Newspaper Page Text
♦ FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2006
4A
Muusimt Pa%ioumai
OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Don Moncrief Foy S. Evans
Managing Editor Editor Emeritus
Joint ops a good thing?
The Vision 20/20 group brought up an
interesting topic of discussion dur
ing their meeting Monday: Turning
the base into a joint operation - basically a
commercial airport with the twist presum
ably of it still being under the control of the
military.
On one hand, and based on the justifica
tion - fill a void for businessmen and such -
it sounds like a great idea. There’s money to
be made, according to the group, in way of
hotels, rental car agencies and commercial
freight carriers. But, that’s probably just
the tip of the iceberg. As we all know wher
ever there’s a hotel there has to be an eat-
ing establish
ment, a bank
and on and on
it goes.
It all sounds
great.
On the other,
however, we
have to play
devil’s advo
cate. Let’s just
say “what if”
there is anoth
er round of
base closings?
And people
continue to
whisper there
will be some
day.
Would hav
ing a joint
flightline, and airport terminal, bode well
in our favor? First off, there’s the issue of
what all this will do in terms of encroach
ment.
Second, one of the things the very first
Base Realignment And Closure commission
looked at hard was how easy it would be
to transition the installation into a civilian
counterpart. In other words, what would be
the base be used for in the future?
That appeared to be what was going to
save Loring Air Force Base in Maine. To
find where Loring used to be located, just
place your finger on the map and go to the
very top edge of Maine. It was about five
miles from the Canadian border and there
was absolutely nothing up there but moose
- plenty of moose.
So getting a company to take over a multi
million dollar installation - an installation,
by the way, that had just constructed a
brand new hospital and a bunch of other
facilities - seemed slim at best.
So, the word on the street - as told to the
installation’s commanders by some very
high-ranking political officials representing
the state (former Sen. George Mitchell was
one) - was Loring was safe.
Then another politician, who had his best
interests in a base in New York at hand
(and even though he/they were supposedly
forbidden to turn the BRAC political) got
on TV and said: “Nobody wants to live at
Loring.” Which, considering the tempera
tures get down to 30 below and it was right
in the path of every major storm - meaning
lots of snow - was true.
But, that’s beside the point. The point is
the area had no industry and appeared to
have no future for industry thus closing it
was a tough, tough decision.
Contrast that to Robins AFB. If we turn it
into a major airport, aren’t we just making
it - a transition into a strictly civilian opera
tion - easy for them (the BRAC)?
Voters have lot to learn
Those among us who believe that the Libertarian
candidate for governor, Garret M. Hayes, is the most
qualified candidate have a lot to learn. His main platform
plank is the abolition of the state income tax, which sure
sounds great. But that means the loss of $6 billion in tax
revenues that are vital for all the services to citizens of
See LETTER, page
That appeared to be
what was going to
save Loring Air Force
Base in Maine. To find
where Loring used to be
located, just place your
finger on the map and
go to the very top edge
of Maine. It was located
about five miles from
the Canadian border
and there was abso
lutely nothing up there
but moose - plenty of
moose.
Picks but not preferences
This column is timely, but perhaps
not wise. Living in a small town
and writing about politics can be
bad for your health! Nonetheless, with
next Tuesday’s elections looming, here
goes with one explanation: These are
my predictions and not necessarily my
preferences.
Before I wade in, two qualifiers.
Number one, I have had experience in
picking winners. I was the person who
opined, the first time Zell Miller ran
for Governor, “he won’t be elected, he
is too liberal!”. Perhaps as accurate as
my Miller prediction: The Republicans,
on the national level, will have a bad
day on Tuesday next, but this will not
be the case in Georgia. Their Georgia
march to the Democratic Sea will con
tinue.
■ 1. Governor: Sonny wins. It might
not happen next week (he could be
forced into a runoff), but ultimately he
will be re-elected. If I had to “bet the
farm,” I would say he squeaks through
with 50 percent plus on November
7. His many Houston County friends
hope so.
■ 2. Lt. Governor: Two good men
in Jim Martin and Casey Cagle. Both
are capable, experienced, and men of
integrity. Cagle is very conservative.
Martin leans to the left. Georgia voters
are not rewarding liberals this year.
Cagle wins.
■ 3. Congress, Bth District: I write
this before President Bush’s Perry visit.
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A vote for Perdue - Mary that is
Dear Ms. Perdue:
We haven’t met, but I feel
like I know you because I have
seen you on television a lot recently.
I’m not sure who convinced you to do
commercials for your husband’s re
election campaign, but they deserve a
gold star.
I have been around the advertising
business for 40 years, and have a little
walking-around knowledge on the sub
ject. Your commercials are good. Very
good. Besides, it has been a treat to see
some positive ads in the midst of the
usual political mudslinging.
Your husband’s opponent, Lt. Gov.
Mark “the Big Guy” Taylor, can’t coun
ter your genteel and dignified appear
ance. He is on his third marriage, and
bringing up that fact isn’t going to
endear him with many women voters
in the state. (If he did win, I am won
dering if the current Mrs. Taylor would
be the state’s Third Lady? Stuff like
that confuses me.)
By the way, The Woman Who Shares
My Name didn’t know much about
you either, because you have been a
low-profile First Lady, but she took
an instant liking to you after seeing
your ads. You should be honored. She
doesn’t take an instant liking to many
things, including my drinking milk out
of the bottle, people who don’t turn
their headlights on in the rain and
just about anything having to do with
politics.
I don’t want to alarm you, but your
television spots are so effective and you
come across so well in them, you might
have some folks voting for you instead
OPINION
Larry
Walker
Columnist
lwalker@whgb-law.com
What effect will this have? Remember
Roosevelt’s attempt to defeat Georgia’s
Senator Walter George? I say it will be
Marshall over Collins, in a squeaker,
although I wouldn’t “bet the farm” on
this pick.
■ 4. Commissioner of Agriculture:
Lots of local interest. If just those in
agriculture circles (farmers, agri-busi
ness, etc.) were voting, Black would
win. Of course, this is not the case
- 90 percent of the voters won’t know
anything about either except that Irvin
will have the (I) for incumbent by his
name and “haven’t I heard Irvin’s
name, before”? Tommy Irvin is elected
to his final term.
■ 5. Attorney General: Thurbert
Baker, a good man, waxes Perry
McGuire.
■ 6. Secretary of State: I will deviate
and express a preference. Karen Handel
defeats Gail Buckner (with whom I
served in the General Assembly). At
least, I certainly hope Handel wins.
■ 7. Supreme Court: Carol Hunstein,
a capable and conscientious incumbent
Dick
Yarbrough
Columnist
yarb24oo@bellsouth.net
of your husband.
There are those among us who
believe that in some cases we may
elect the wrong spouse to public office.
For example, if Barbara Bush had
been president instead of George H.W.
Bush, there is no question she would
have finished the job in Iraq the first
time around and not left such a mess
for her son. No head of a country with
half a lick of sense including that
little weasel in Iran would have
messed with Barbara, and today we
might have Peace on Earth instead of
a bunch of little satraps threatening us
all the time.
The same holds true for Laura Bush.
I’ll bet that if we had elected her 4
president, she would have charmed the
Democrats and the Republicans into
passing all the legislation George W.
can’t get passed. Who could say “no”
to Laura Bush?
Plus, being a former teacher and
school librarian, she has a good com
mand of the English language and
wouldn’t get things as balled up as
the president does to the point that
we aren’t always sure what he’s talk
ing about. And she has a nice, genuine
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judge, wins big over her opponent.
What’s his name? You see his prob
lem.
■ 8. State Representative, 146th
District: Larry O’Neal wins big. A big
majority of voters feel that Houston
County needs this Larry in Atlanta.
■ 9. State Representative, 147th
District: It’s Johnny Floyd in a land
slide against his phantom opponent.
■ 10. Houston County Commissioner:
Pro-development or impact fees? Pro
development wins. I like that Walker
named - “Jay” Walker, that is.
Let’s see. I picked six Republicans
and three Democrats (the Supreme
Court Judge’s race is non-partisan).
But three of the Republicans used io
be Democrats. Does that count? Before
you answer, let me acknowledge that
there were winning reasons for the
switches and the switchers.
The most difficult two to pick?
The Marshall-Collins Congressional
race and the Irvin-Black Agriculture
Commissioner contest. Picking any
Democrat in a Georgia state-wide race
is risky. Either of these could go the
other way, and expect the winner in
both to have a thin margin.
In seeing how I did, after November 7,
I will use Daddy’s evaluating standards
just like he used to do to my report
cards. Ten or nine - excellent. Eight
gets me by. Seven is barely acceptable.
Less than seven, who will administer
the corporal punishment?
smile, not that little smirk that makes
her husband look like he knows some
thing we don’t know but isn’t going
to tell us. I don’t think either you or
your husband want that to happen
here in Georgia. You’ve got a lot better
things to do with your time than to be
governor, and he seems to enjoy the
job. But you do need to tell him to be
careful about his recent land purchas
es. Frankly, they just don’t pass the
smell test with a lot of rank-and-file
Georgians. I have had people who have
strongly supported him in the past
tell me that he is beginning to act like
the Democrats he replaced and that
they are disappointed in him. That
is a shame, because he is a good and
decent man, but the land deals make
him look like someone who is using his
high office for personal gain. Either he
is getting bad advice, or he refuses to
heed good advice. I’ll bet he’ll listen
to you.
Anyway, I just wanted you to know
that your commercials are dynamite,
and you are a terrific asset to your hus
band’s campaign. I am always bragging
about the things that make Georgia
such a great state: Majestic moun
tains, beautiful beaches, nice people
and Vidalia onions, just to name a
few. After watching you on television
over the past few weeks, I am adding
Georgia’s First Lady to that list.
Sincerely,
Dick Yarbrough
You can reach Dick Yarbrough at
yarb24ooo@bellsouth.net, EO. Box
725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139, or
Web site: www.dickyarbrough.com.
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